The Detective and the Diary
by jolly roger brat
Summary: When Wendy's diary goes missing, Slightly writes a story about it, and everyone is brought into the book's mysterious disappearance.


A/N: I only own the characters Honey, Jessa, and Catarina. All other characters belong to the incredible JM Barrie.

The Lost Boys were all bored and disgusted. They wanted to go with Peter on his latest adventure, but Wendy said they had to stay home since the weather was so bad...but of course, a little thing like a thunderstorm wouldn't keep Peter Pan at home!

Nibs was pacing like a lion in a cage. "This is crazy!" he fumed, "I should be out with Peter; not stuck in here!"

Looking up from the blank book in his lap, Slightly glared at him. "Give us a break, Nibs! You think we're all slightly happy about being inside?" Suddenly, his expression softened when he saw Wendy near him. She looked like she was looking for something. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"My diary's missing," Wendy told him, "I had it on the table last night and now I can't find it!"

"I'll keep an eye slightly open for it," Slightly promised, thinking, _That's not a bad idea for my story._ After a while, he was looking it over, and thinking of how to end it when he saw Tinkerbell come up to him.

She also read the story, saying, "That's really good. Maybe fix up the ending a little, but, fiction and fantasy, that's not bad at all! Now how would you like me to bring your story to life?"

"Let's see," Slightly replied, counting off on his fingers, "First time we did this, Hook came slightly close to swabbing the deck with us. Second time, I was the White Rabbit in Wonderland, and I _still_ hate that song by Jefferson Airplane!" But he agreed, "Why not? It might be slightly fun, and we'll get out of the Underground House for an hour or two. And I know, if it gets too intense, or at any moment you want to end it, close the book." When Tinkerbell poured her fairy dust on the pages, Slightly read to himself, "The Case of the Diary's Disappearance. The Adventures of Matt Spade, Private Eyyyyyyyeeeee!" The last word echoed as Slightly was pulled into a story of mystery, drama, and intrigue.

He opened his eyes, finding himself in an office. He grinned at Tootles and Michael, who played his partners Tony and Mickey, and went to answer a knock on the door. He found himself face to face with a very pretty, and very familiar, girl.

"Are you Matt Spade?" Wendy asked.

"Isn't that what it says on the door, doll?" Slightly asked.

"No," Wendy read the reflection, "It says 'edapS ttaM,'"

"Okay," Slightly offered her a chair, "What's your case?"

"My name is Kat Ciao. I'm a singer for the Kuku Club. I know it doesn't seem like much, but my diary was stolen. I keep it to record my thoughts about performances and rehearsals."

"Okay, now does anyone else know about this diary?"

"The girls I dance with: Catarina Warren, Jessa Fields, and Honey Dew."

Slightly nodded as Wendy continued. It turned out that when she was alone, Wendy thought someone was watching her write. When she looked up, the person was gone. Finally, he nodded. "I'll take your case."

Later, he was in a nightclub on the edge of town. As he entered, he heard piano music in the corner. He shook his head and went to Nibs. "Nicky, you've got Cats on the brain! Or did playing Alonzo last year go to your head?" he teased him.

"You want me to play Secret Agent Man instead?" Nibs asked innocently.

"Go cough up a hairball," Slightly said with a sarcastic laugh, "But seriously, Nick, I've got a new case to tell you about." With those words, he proceeded to tell him about the case.

"Sorry, Matt, I can't help you," Nibs said to him, "I've always liked Jessa better than Kat."

"Okay," Slightly said, "Say hi to Grizabella for me!"

"Jellylorum is the only cat for me!" Nibs yelled, throwing a napkin at him.

Slightly ducked the attack and went to the bar next.

Curly was setting up. "What can I get you?"

"One double tall Mochacinno Latte, heavy on the chocolate sprinkles, caffiene shots, and whipped cream and some slightly important information." Slightly rattled off his favorite drink.

"Sure, by the way, I'm Corey," Curly introduced himself. He listened to the case, then said, "Sorry, Matt. I'm new here and I don't watch the dancers. Maybe go talk to the waiters over there."

Slightly nodded, paid for his drink, and went to the Twins next.

"Sorry," Nag, the younger Twin started, "Ever since we..."  
"Came here a few months ago, we never..." Plug, the older Twin continued  
"Spoke to anyone, except the customers, and the..."  
"Lovely ladies in Kat's group, but Kat herself never told..."  
"Us about the diary. We'll still tell you if..."  
"Something comes up."

Slightly nodded, seeing another familiar face. There at his usual table with his henchmen, Benny Jenkins (Jukes)and Rob Mulls (Mullins), was James "The Hook" Pi Rhett. "Dangerous as he is slightly well dressed," Slightly mused. "I'm glad Tony and Mickey aren't here! One wrong move, and-don't think it Matt, just move!"

Mulls started to rise, but Slightly flashed his badge and the pirate sat down again. Now he told the men about the missing diary.

"I'm no writer," Jenkins told him, "I take pictures."

"I don't do the writing thing, especially not in diaries," Mulls added.

"I couldn't care less about this Mistress Ciao's journal," Pi Rhett said to him.

"Someone should teach these guys some respect for writing," Slightly mused. Suddenly, he saw another familiar face: Tiger Lily, playing his friend Koko.

"Why would I want another diary, Matt? You know I have my own. It was the one you got me for my birthday last year," Koko said to him.

Soon, Slightly told Wendy what he'd found out. She sadly went to her dressing room. Later, he saw Tiger Lily rise . She slipped on a wet spot, spilling the contents of her purse. "Here's a slightly clumsy one!" Slightly mused, and went to help her. Suddenly, he saw a small book with the words "Property of Katrina Ciao." He eyed her suspiciously as he wrapped the journal in his trenchcoat to avoid getting his fingerprints on it.

"That's not mine!" Tiger Lily said as she was taken away.

Later, at Slightly's office, Tootles was interrogating her. "Why was the diary in your purse? What was your motive for blackmailing Miss Kat Ciao?" Suddenly, he burst into song with the radio in the corner, and soon had Michael and Tiger Lily joining in. _"Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp, Who put the ram __in the rama lama ding dong? Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop? Who put the dip in the dip da dip da dip? Who was that man, I'd like to shake his hand! He made my baby fall in love with me!"_

"It's slightly difficult being the sane one in the group," Slightly sighed and rolled his eyes. "Tony! Mickey! This is an interrogation; not a sing along!"

"Sorry, Matt, but the boys in the lab just analyzed the prints on the diary," Michael said to him.

Slightly scanned the report and nodded. He freed Tiger Lily as he said, "Good job, Mickey. You and Tony come with us; we're going back to the scene of the crime."

Back at the club, Slightly's main suspects were at tables: Nibs, who had possibly stolen the diary for Jessa, the Twins, who learned things from talking to the customers, the dancers themselves, whom Slightly hadn't questioned yet, and Hook and his men.

Slightly stepped forward to reveal the solution. "Guys, none of you have to worry. It was a girl who planted the diary on Koko," he turned to the dancers. "Let's hear your stories, ladies."

"I'm a freelance journalist, so I don't write in diaries," Jessa said.

"I have my own diary, not like Kat's for thoughts about dances," Honey said.

Slightly turned to the next girl when Tony stopped him. "Did you say Kat's diary had dance thoughts in it?"

"No, I didn't." Slightly turned toward Honey, who bolted.

"I don't-" Nag started.  
"Think so!" Plug finished.

Before Slightly could chase her, the Twins tackled Honey. They shouted for Tootles and Michael to restrain her. Then noticing Slightly's expression, they reached into their jacket pockets, and showed him badges.

"Nathan Gears," Nag started.  
"Patrick Gears," Plug continued.  
"Undercover detectives for the"  
"Prevention and Avoidance of"  
"Nasty Ne'er do-wells."

"I'm slightly familiar with PAN," Slightly said to them, "but what are you doing here?"

The Twins said that Honey had been wanted for months. She stole diaries and posted them on her Internet website, hoping to embarrass the people who wrote in them, or blackmail them into doing whatever she wanted.

"Thank you for getting this back!" Wendy called after them.

Back at the office, Slightly, Tony, and Mickey were at their desks when Slightly picked up another book and leafed through it. "Nice job, guys," he said as he closed it absently. Suddenly, they gasped as they were brought back, and the story ended.

Slightly opened his eyes in time to hear Nibs' voice next to him. "Slightly, that was intense! Why didn't you tell us you could write like that?"

"Yeah, maybe fix up the ending and you could get that published!" Curly agreed.

Meanwhile, the Twins came up to Wendy with a small book. "We found this in the kitchen..." Nag started.  
"A while ago. We just got so caught up..." Plug continued.  
"In Slightly's story that we forgot to..."  
"Give it to you."

"My diary! Thank you!" Wendy said as she took it. Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. She saw the Twins smirk.

"Oh, Diary, it was pure magic!" Nag snickered.  
"Peter and I shared such a long-" Plug continued.  
"Kiss in my dream! I thought my heart would..."  
"Burst with overflowing love!"

"Twins! Get back here! So help me, when I'm through with you-!" Wendy yelled, chasing the Twins as they sprinted around the room.

"First you find the perp who stole Wendy's diary, now you turn on her? Twins, you're so...two faced!" Curly joked.

"That was so funny..." Nag started snidely.  
"I forgot to laugh." Plug continued sarcastically.  
"And like we didn't hear _that_..."  
"One a million times before!"

Meanwhile, Slightly mused, "That's not a bad idea for another story: 'The Case of the Multiple Murders.' Wow; I feel slightly similar to that detective in the story Wendy read us last night!"

His thoughts were interrupted as Peter came in. He caught Wendy as he said, "I beat them all! I'll tell you all about it. Come with me."

"All right. By the way, Peter, you should have been here. Slightly's quite a writer. He wrote a story that Tink brought to life and put us in it. It was really good."

"Here's lookin' at you, kid," Slightly played along, making Wendy faint.

"She's right," Nibs said as Peter and Wendy left, "But I'll have you know that I played Mr. Mistofellees last year, and when you mess with Cats, you mess with me!" then he shouted to the boys, "Get him!"

Slightly saw that he had one chance to escape. He curled into a ball and pointed behind him. "Look! The horror! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The boys ran off and Slightly looked up. When they were gone, he laughed victoriously. "Yes! Now if I'd just done that when I got back from that fight where I made secret friends with Billy Jukes," he mused, then he said, "Oh, well!" Still smirking, he went to the kitchen. There, he found that everyone was in their outfits from the story...apparently, the book had been opened again.

Tiger Lily was in the kitchen too, wearing her story outfit. "What can I say?" she asked, "You're a fantastic writer!"

Curly dimmed the lights while the Twins set glasses of water next to them. Tiger Lily sang softly with Nibs' piano music. Then Slightly took her hand.

Tootles and Michael cheered as the older boy and Indian girl rose. They launched into a slow dance with another Broadway love song playing.

"I think this is a slightly better ending to my story," Slightly whispered. Then as he and Tiger Lily danced, he thought about what Curly had said, and decided that one day he would take his advice and get his story published.

Notes: The song Tootles was singing was Who Put the Bomp by Barry Mann (And I just had to put that little joke in during his interrogation!)

Also, there were several subtle hints of some episodes of Peter Pan and the Pirates: One was "Peter in Wonderland", where Slightly was the White Rabbit. Another one was "Billy Jukes Lost Boy", where Slightly and Billy Jukes made friends. And there was also "Living Pictures" which introduced the idea of bringing stories to life and closing the book to make the spell stop.

Final disclaimers: This story was based on an episode of the TV show Step by Step. And one of Slightly's final lines is from Casablanca.


End file.
